<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The weekly session in which the British prime minister is questioned by lawmakers in Parliament can be an ordeal for the government leader. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For Cabinet members, it’s usually simply a matter of backing their boss.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But on Wednesday the spotlight ended up on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves during the Prime Minister's Questions session because it became evident that she was crying as she sat beside Prime Minister Keir Starmer.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/julian-mcmahon-dead-australian-actor-nip-tuck-cancer-news/6a855e15-04c4-4c82-b6e9-869253436074"><strong><span>Australian actor Julian McMahon dies after private battle with cancer</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not known what triggered the tears, later said to have been personal. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They came as Starmer sought to fend off attacks that his year-old government was losing its authority and that he was about to fire Reeves to regain the initiative.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Markets spooked</span></h3></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/uk-chancellor-cries-in-parliament-spooked-financial-markets/474bc738-2feb-42f6-9e16-1de006ea5e62" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Traders got spooked, with the interest rate charged on the UK’s 10-year benchmark bond in the markets up sharply, and the pound down. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The moves were a sign investors had lost confidence in UK financial assets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reeves had become associated with fiscal discipline, in particular a rule of covering day-to-day government spending with tax revenue, said Andrew Wishart, an economist at Berenberg Bank.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“The markets are concerned that if the Chancellor goes, such fiscal discipline would follow her out of the door," he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With Starmer insisting on Thursday that Reeves would remain in post, the markets calmed down.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-police-officer-kicked-in-head-stomach-while-on-welfare-check/4ff8d198-3b74-44c3-a36b-e112634030c9"><strong><span>NSW Police officer kicked in head, stomach while on welfare check</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Prime minister's weekly ordeal</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prime Minister's Questions, or PMQs, can come as close to a gladiatorial contest as is possible in a modern legislative chamber. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Very little deference is given to the man or woman holding the highest office in the land.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The prime minister is considered the first among equals. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Like all other members of Parliament, the prime minister represents one of 650 constituencies. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And nowhere is that shared connection more noticeable than at noon every Wednesday in the House of Commons.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Starmer stands for half an hour every week to be quizzed by friends and foes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He may get soft balls, but there's always a potential zinger around the corner.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The leader of the biggest opposition party, currently the Conservative Party's Kemi Badenoch, has the best chance to knock the prime minister off course. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With six questions, she can lay traps and go for the jugular.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Typically it's more theatre than substance, and the weekly shouting match is consistently the most-watched parliamentary event, viewed around the world, including on C-Span in the United States.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/at-least-13-dead-in-texas-floods-and-more-than-20-children-missing-from-a-girls-summer-camp/ed1ac01d-60f3-47c1-b9fd-d837d687d865"><strong><span>At least 13 dead in Texas floods</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>This week was fraught</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This week's session appeared to have more at stake than usual following a chaotic run-up to a welfare reform bill.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With scores of Labour lawmakers opposed, Starmer was forced to scrap key planks of the bill — at a cost, politically and economically.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For a prime minister, with one of the biggest majorities in history, it was a sign of weakness.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many Labour MPs blame Reeves, for her rigid adherence to her budget rules.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As usual, Starmer was flanked to his left by Reeves, who didn't look her usual self, clearly bloated around the eyes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Badenoch showed little mercy, describing Reeves as “absolutely miserable” and a “human shield” for Starmer. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/us-dollar-falling-why-worlds-king-currency-going-backwards-explained/a7d39032-98ca-4509-ae72-1967171b6ec6"><strong><span>The world's most important currency is suddenly sliding backwards</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She asked Starmer whether he could repeat a pledge that Reeves would stay in her post until the general election, which has to take place by the middle of 2029.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While praising Reeves' handling of the economy, Starmer didn't give that assurance, and it was around this point that Reeves wiped away a tear.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place," Badenoch responded.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/07/04/09/47/today-in-history-july-5-what-happened-on-this-day"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/DaL3pQQsLq9VtR5wH4ZcsXJeNb0=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd5e97cf5-9fb6-4b7b-a82c-a73f3dfa2a02" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/DaL3pQQsLq9VtR5wH4ZcsXJeNb0=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd5e97cf5-9fb6-4b7b-a82c-a73f3dfa2a02 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/gZGQYRIr_1hoUi7zex1hzUHCYXw=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd5e97cf5-9fb6-4b7b-a82c-a73f3dfa2a02 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Two-time Oscar winner mauled by lion as a nine-year-old</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/07/04/09/47/today-in-history-july-5-what-happened-on-this-day">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>The immediate political aftermath</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Starmer's Downing Street operation faced questions over Reeves' teary appearance. Could it have been hay fever? </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Had Starmer told Reeves she would be fired for the government's recent woes, which has seen Labour's approval ratings slide?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Starmer's press spokesman said it was a “personal matter,” insisted Reeves was “going nowhere” and had the prime minister's “full backing.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Later, Starmer told the BBC that Reeves would be Chancellor for a “very long time” and that it was “absolutely wrong” to suggest her distress was related to the welfare U-turn.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australian-bat-lyssavirus-what-ablv-is-symptoms-risks-everything-to-know-explained/db07669a-edfc-4878-92db-4bb8dff524ff"><strong><span>What we know about the rare bat virus that has claimed a fourth life</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>A day on</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Images of Reeves' agitated state were emblazoned across newspapers and remained a key item on the news agenda.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Starmer repeated on Thursday that Reeves would remain Chancellor “for years to come" and sought to explain why he hadn't comforted Reeves during PMQs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang," he said at an event where he and Reeves hugged. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That’s what it was yesterday and therefore I was probably the last to appreciate anything going on in the chamber.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reeves appeared more like her usual self.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday," she told Sky News. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“I guess the thing that is different from my job and many of your viewers is that when I’m having a tough day, it’s on the telly.”</span></div></div>